VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister (Endowments) Kottu Satyanarayana on Tuesday said the ordinance brought out by the government, amending Section 83 of the Endowments Act, was approved by the Governor and it will be introduced in the form of a bill in the State Assembly soon.
Speaking to media persons at the Secretariat, Satyanarayana said the main objective of the amendment is to protect the endowments lands and take severe action against those who encroach them.“Further, the new ordinance will help in the recovery of dues, and lands for which the lease has expired, but has still not been handed back to the Endowments Department. The historic decision was taken by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the recent cabinet meeting,” he explained.
According to the minister, there are 4,53,173 acres of endowment land (agriculture) and 23,33,103.34 sq yards of commercial land. Elaborating on the need for the amendment, he said there are several cases, where the lease of the endowments land (both agriculture and commercial) is not renewed and the lease amount is not paid.“The new ordinance will address all the issues,” he asserted.
Through GO No 60, State and district-level committees have been formed to protect the endowment land and decide on issues related to the lease of agriculture and commercial lands, which are vacant through public auction (defaulters are not allowed) to ensure improved revenue to the department.
“The State-level committee will be headed by CCLA, with the endowments commissioner being the member convener. The DGP and heads of a few other departments like Stamps and Registration will be members. Similarly, 11-member district-level committees will be headed by respective collectors. The committees will help safeguard the endowments lands,” the Deputy Chief Minister elaborated.